Carter v. Sedgwick County, Kan.

705 F. Supp. 1474, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15035, 50 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 39,099, 48 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1349, 1988 WL 148262
CourtDistrict Court, D. Kansas
DecidedDecember 2, 1988
Docket87-1114-K
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 705 F. Supp. 1474 (Carter v. Sedgwick County, Kan.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carter v. Sedgwick County, Kan., 705 F. Supp. 1474, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15035, 50 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 39,099, 48 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1349, 1988 WL 148262 (D. Kan. 1988).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND JOURNAL ENTRY OF JUDGMENT

PATRICK F. KELLY, District Judge.

This is a civil rights action in which plaintiff contends she suffered sexual harassment and was unlawfully terminated from her employment on the basis of her race and sex, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. (Title VII).

This case was fully tried to the court September 6, 1988 through September 16, 1988. At the close of trial, the court ruled from the bench in favor of plaintiff on her § 1981 claim, and against plaintiff on her Title VII and § 1983 claims. At that time, the court stated that its findings would be finalized in a brief, written memorandum and journal entry. Accordingly, the court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law, which incorporate in full its previous ruling from the bench.

Findings of Fact

The plaintiff, E. Jean Carter, is a black female hired by the Sedgwick County Board of Commissioners as an office associate for the Department of Sedgwick County Community Corrections on June 23, 1983. This employment placed her under the supervision of defendant Jon Cameron, the Community Corrections Director, and defendant Michael Brand, the Assistant Director. Plaintiff was amply qualified for this position by reason of her prior education, training and experience.

Plaintiffs duties with the Community Corrections Department were generally secretarial in nature and included some typing, handling correspondence, answering the telephone, acting as receptionist, keeping track of supplies, doing the payroll, and filing. Plaintiff also acted as recording secretary for the Board of Community Corrections and was responsible for coordinating the department’s resident supervisors with the board.

During plaintiffs employment with the department, her work performance was periodically evaluated by defendant Cameron, and she was consistently graded above average in all areas, outstanding in others. She was rewarded for her work by receiving a merit pay increase each time such an increase was considered.

Plaintiff testified that during the course of her employment she was subjected to numerous racial slurs and epithets at the hands of defendant Brand, and was sexually harassed by defendant Cameron. Specifically, as to plaintiffs claim of race discrimination, plaintiff testified that defendant Brand referred to plaintiff on several occasions as “Jon’s [Cameron] token nigger,” and at other times would tell plaintiff *1476 it was “nigger pick day.” Plaintiff claims defendant Brand kept a picture of a black family in his office, and when plaintiff questioned Brand about the picture, he boasted of his own “nigger blood” and of his sexual conquests of “black pussy.” Plaintiff further testified that on one occasion defendant Brand presented her with a picture of “Long Dong Silver”, a photo of a black male with an elongated penis. On another occasion, Brand pinned a postcard containing a picture of two black children (“Buckwheat” and “Stymie”) of “Little Rascals” fame on a bulletin board behind plaintiff’s desk. Plaintiff believes the postcard was intended to be a representation of her own two children, as plaintiff was unmarried at the time and defendant Brand had, on another occasion, referred to plaintiffs children as “the two lost kids with no daddy.”

On at least three occasions, plaintiff testified, defendant Brand would use the expression “dark clouds falling, not long before day,” an expression plaintiff testified is considered a racially derogatory remark by most black individuals. Plaintiff additionally testified that defendant Brand often referred to her as “his Ethel Roach,” a moniker plaintiff considered racist and uncomplimentary. Plaintiff explained that Ethel Roach was a black female inmate who wore rags around her head and had big lips, and whom defendants Brand and Cameron had known when they worked together previously in Iowa.

Finally, plaintiff claims that sometime in February of 1985, the month in which plaintiff was terminated, defendant Brand informed plaintiff that he would “get even with her.”

On February 22, 1985, defendant Cameron left the employ of the county, and defendant Brand succeeded him as director. On defendant Brand’s very first day as director, February 25, 1985, Brand terminated plaintiff’s employment, giving her 15 minutes to clear out her things and advising her to “never come back on county property.”

At trial, defendant Brand denied plaintiff’s claims of race discrimination and stated he fired plaintiff because she was too assertive, he was unsatisfied with her performance for defendant Cameron, and he wanted his “own person.” While other witnesses supported defendant Brand’s denial of racial slurs, etc., plaintiff presented a rebuttal witness, Cyril Foote, who previously was employed with the Community Corrections Department and who is currently the county’s Affirmative Action Director. Foote testified that Brand frequently referred to plaintiff as “Jon’s token nigger,” and would discuss with Foote the prospects of “black pussy and black cock.”

As to her claims of sexual harassment, plaintiff primarily bases that claim upon a number of sexual objects she received in late 1984 and 1985. These objects, which were introduced as exhibits at trial, included a “Mr. Peter Party Mold;” a “Pecker Pop Top;” a “Mouth Organ;” a “Sexy Hotdog;” and “Happiness,” nude male and female figurines whose purpose was obvious. Plaintiff testified that some of these items were wrapped in paper and placed on her desk before she would arrive for work in the morning. Another item, the sexy hotdog, was given to her as a “gift” for her birthday, and came with a birthday card signed by Jon Cameron and his wife, Joan. Plaintiff testified that when she received these gifts she would put them in her bottom drawer and felt “hurt, humiliated, embarrassed, angry and degraded.”

Defendant Cameron’s wife, Joan Cameron, testified that she and plaintiff were good friends and often talked about men in a joking way. Joan Cameron testified that she was responsible for giving plaintiff some of the “gifts.” She explained that the gifts were part of a continuing exchange of jokes between herself and plaintiff, which included suggestive cards and sexual objects. Mrs. Cameron stated that both she and Mr. Cameron believed the plaintiff enjoyed these jokes and did not consider them offensive, and apparently the situation simply got out of hand.

Following her termination, plaintiff filed the present action against Jon Cameron, Michael Brand, Sedgwick County, the *1477 Board of County Commissioners — both collectively and individually, and County Administrator Tim Witsman. Plaintiff alleges she suffered sexual harassment and was unlawfully terminated and discriminated against due to her race and sex, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1981, 42 U.S.C.

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705 F. Supp. 1474, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15035, 50 Empl. Prac. Dec. (CCH) 39,099, 48 Fair Empl. Prac. Cas. (BNA) 1349, 1988 WL 148262, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carter-v-sedgwick-county-kan-ksd-1988.